Geoi~ge  Washington  Flowers 
Memorial  Collection 

DUKE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 


ESTABLISHED  BY  THE 

FAMILY  OF 

COLONEL  FLOWERS 


%i»m™T, 


Pamphlet  Collection 
D»ke  UnWemty  Library 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2013 


http://archive.org/details/treeoflegalknowlOOrale 


fo!^.^w^/L. 


TREE  OF  LEGAL  KNOWLEDGE; 


DESIGNED  AS 


AN    ASSISTANT    TO    STUDENTS 


STUDY   OF   LAW, 

IN      WHICH     THE     ADMIRABLE     SYSTEM     AS     LAID      DOWN     BY 
BLACKSTONE     IN     HIS     COMMENTARIES,    IS    PRESERVED, 


AN    ATTORNEY     AT     LAW. 


RALEIGH, 
PUBLISHED  BY  TURNER  &  HUGHES. 

1838. 


Entered,  according  to  the  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1838,  by  Tur- 
ner &  Hughes.  Proprietors,  in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of 
the  Southern  District  of  New- York. 


,rU  /V-ywvC  i  \**fl 


INTRODUCTION. 


"  The  established  reputation  of  Judge  Black- 
stone's  commentaries  has  rendered  it  very  deserv- 
edly the  foundation  of  legal  studies.  Previous  to 
the  publication  of  the  commentaries,  the  student 
was  compelled  to  assume  Coke's  commentary  on 
Lyttleton  as  an  institute  and  thus  commencing  his 
early  studies  without  method,  his  subsequent  pro- 
gress was  laborious,  and  his  acquisitions  unsatis- 
factory. 

In  the  inception  of  a  study,  accurate  and  log- 
ical arrangement  is  indispensible — without  it  the 
student  will  always  grope  in  the  dark,  and,  ulti- 
mately, find  his  labours  useless.  An  early  sense 
of  the  force  of  this  idea,  induced  the  author  to  plan 
and  execute  the  present  work  for  his  own  improve- 
ment. Its  great  object  is  to  impress  upon  the  mind 
the  methodical  divisions  and  subdivisions  of  the 
Commentaries  and  thus  enable  the  student  effec- 
tually to  master  the  work  and  preserve  the  arrange- 
ment as  the  general  guide  of  his  future  studies." 

To  do  it  in  the  most  forcible  manner,  has  been 
the  object  of  the  author.  Believing  that  the  mind 
more  readily  grasps  and  more  vividly  retains  im- 
pressions communicated  through  the  sense  of  per- 
ception, he  has  clothed  the  fixed  principles  of  that 
1 


science  in  the  garb  of  material  objects.  He  is  in- 
duced to  think,  he  has  not  flattered  himself,  in  be- 
lieving that  he  has  chosen  the  best  method  to  at- 
tain his  end,  when  he  remembers  with  a  distinct- 
ness almost  equal  to  the  visible  objects  now  formed 
upon  the  retina,  the  expression  of  features  which 
animate  the  group  in  that  inimitable  picture  of 
"  Christ  rejected."  Nor  is  the  recollection  less  dis- 
tinct of  the  Geographical  knowledge  of  this  world 
with  its  mighty  oceans,  boundless  continents,  inden- 
ted bays,  and  serpentine  rivers,  which  was  im- 
pressed on  his  mind  in  early  youth  by  the  lines  and 
shades  of  an  atlas.  The  author  humbly  conceives 
that  the  "Tree  of  Legal  Knowledge"  will  prove  as 
useful  in  fixing  the  various  divisions  and  sub-divis- 
ions of  that  abstruse  science  firmly  on  the  mind,  as 
does  the  pencil  of  the  artist  in  pourtraying  the  strik- 
ing events  of  the  past,  or  the  atlas  in  communicating 
the  knowledge  of  countries  described  by  the  trav- 
eller. To  the  practioner,  also,  it  is  deemed  useful 
in  consolidating  his  learning,  and  forming  an  in- 
structive and  ornamental  appendage  to  an  office. 
The  gentleman,  too,  who  is  desirous  of  becoming 
acquainted  with  that  system  of  laws  of  which  ours 
is  principally  composed,  and  which  is  highly  neces- 
sary to  every  legislator  and  scholar;  will  be  materi- 
ally benefitted  by  its  use,  especially  in  conjunction 
with  the  Commentaries. 

The  author  has  submitted  a  brief  explanation 
of  the  "  Tree  of  Legal  Knowledge,"  the  principal 
part  of  which  may  be  found  in  the  Commentaries 
with  trifling  alteration. 


EXPLANATION. 

Law  is  the  rule  and  bond  of  men's  actions, 
whereby  they  are  commanded  to  make  use  of  their 
faculties  of  reason  and  free-will  for  the  regulation 
of  their  conduct. 

Natural  Law,  or  the  Law  of  Nature,  may  be 
denned  to  be,  those  general  principles  of  Justice 
deduced  by  the  operation  of  reason,  from  the  nat- 
ural relation  of  things  antecedent  to  positive  pre- 
cept :  such  as  living  honestly,  hurting  nobody,  ren- 
dering to  every  one  his  own,  <fcc. 

But  by  the  fall  of  our  first  parents,  human  rea- 
son became  darkened  ;  and  as  that  in  its  vigour 
was  necessary  to  the  discovery  of  these  principles, 
the  beneficence  of  the  Deity  interposed  and  ren- 
dered clear  its  laws  by  immediate  revelation. 
This  was  termed,  revealed  law. 

Upon  these  two  foundations  are  based  the 
laws  of  England.  As  those  who  reason  correctly 
will  arrive  at  the  same  conclusion,  when  their  pre- 
mises are  the  same ;  the  customs  and  usages  of 
mankind  were  formed  in  obedience  to  the  sugges- 
tions of  right  by  the  operation  of  reason,  or  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  precepts  of  the  Almighty. 
These  rules  of  action  soon  became  binding  from 
conviction  of  their  propriety  by  common  consent, 
under  the  name  of  general  customs. 

With  regard  to  certain  minor  considerations, 
different  ideas  of  propriety  existed  in  different  sec- 
tions of  the  same  country,  and  as  they  did  not  con- 


4 

flict  with  the  rights  of  those  out  of  that  particular 
district,  they  were  permitted  and  sanctioned  under 
the  name  of  particular  customs. 

In  the  administration  of  justice,  certain  rules 
were  introduced  in  particular  courts,  which  were 
derived  from  the  digests  of  Imperial  Rome,  and  in 
later  times  from  the  opinions  of  the  Latin  fathers 
and  decretal  epistles  of  the  Pope ;  deriving  their 
force,  merely  from  their  adoption.     These  were 

styled  PARTICULAR  LAWS. 

These  three  roots,  general  customs,  particu- 
lar customs,  and  particular  laws,  springing  from 
the  life-giving  soil  of  natural  and  revealed  law; 
grew  in  time  into  that  magnificent  tree  the  common 
law  of  England,  the  kindly  shelter  of  whose 
branches  is  sought  in  the  remotest  parts  of  the 
earth,  and  whose  fruit  nourishes  the  inhabitants  of 
almost  every  clime  where  the  sun  of  Liberty  shines. 

That  men  might  know  their  duty  to  their  fel- 
low men, — to  render  justice  to  others  and  demand 
it  for  themselves,  it  became  necessary  to  define  the 
rights  of  man.  These  the  Common  Law  com- 
manded the  observance.  Violations  of  these  rights 
were  of  course  wrongs.  These  the  Laws  forbid. 
These  rights  either  appertained  to  the  person  of 
individuals,  or  else  to  the  property  which  they 
might  acquire.  They  were  therefore  divided  into 
rights  op  persons  and  rights  of  things.  Viola- 
tions of  these  rights  were  injuries,  either  to  sepa- 
rate individuals  in  person  or  property,  or  else  af- 
fected the  whole  community  by  their  evil  tendency, 
and  contempt  for  the  governing  power.  The  latter 
generally  includes  the  former.     The  former  or  civil 


injuries,  were  denominated  private  wrongs;  the 
latter,  or  crimes  and  misdemeanors,  were  termed 

PUBLIC  WRONGS. 

As  these  laws  existed  up  to  the  first  year  of  the 
reign  of  Richard  1st,  (the  time  of  legal  memory,) 
they  form  what  is  termed  the  lex  non  scripta,  or 

COMMON  LAW. 

The  objects  of  property  became  more  nume- 
rous and  diversified  as  civilization  advanced ; 
changes  took  place  in  the  opinions  and  customs  of 
mankind,  and  it  became  necessary  that  the  laws 
should  keep  pace  with  the  improvement  in  the  so- 
cial state.  To  that  end,  the  power  intrusted  with 
the  care  of  the  Public  welfare,  passed  such  acts,  or 
promulgated  such  edicts  as  tended  to  its  accomplish- 
ment. These  form  the  lex  scripta  or  statute 
law.  The  reader  will  perceive  it  personated  by 
a  husbandman  under  the  tree  of  the  Common  Law, 
with  a  green  bough  in  one  hand,  to  engraft  upon  the 
branches  of  that  tree  representing  an  enlarging 
statute;  and  a  pruning  hook  in  the  other  to  lop  off 
excrescences,  indicating  a  restraining  statute. 

The  piece  being  autumnal  the  green  bough 
of  the  mistletoe  shows  at  a  glance  what  is  the 
Common  Law,  and  what  changes  have  been  intro- 
duced by  statute. 

The  rights  of  persons,  constituting  the  first  or 
right  branch  of  this  tree,  delineates  the  rights  of 
man  whether  absolute  or  relative,  the  classes  of 
society  whether  ecclesiastical  or  lay ;  civil,  military 
or  maritime  ;  and  the  different  degrees  of  standing 
from  the  king  to  the  peasant, — the  form  of  gov- 
ernment, and  the  heads  under  which  it  is  to  be 
contemplated.     Interspersed   throughout   are   the 


insignia,  emblems  and  mottoes,  which  denote  the 
rank,  precedence,  and  peculiar  province  of  each. 

The  second  branch  which  denotes  the  rights  of 
things,  commencing  with  the  prominent  division  of 
real  and  personal,  keeps  them  distinct*  throughout ; 
and  enables  the  reader  to  have  constantly  before 
him  the  kinds  of  property,  the  estates  which  may 
be  had  therein,  the  various  means  by  which  title 
may  be  acquired  and  lost — making  the  reader  also 
acquainted  with  the  persons  capable  of  aliening, 
and  of  being  aliened  to,  and  the  different  methods 
of  aliening — with  deeds,  their  kinds,  requisites,  com- 
ponent parts,  how  avoided,  &c,  which  bough 
hangs  over  the  whole  in  indication  of  the  fact  that 
almost  all  property  is  held  by  or  under  deed. 

Next  in  succession,  is  private  wrongs.  After 
expressing  the  means  by  which  man  may  agree- 
ably to  law  redress  his  own  wrongs  without  re- 
course to  any  tribunal,  and  the  redress  which  the 
law  gives  without  seeking  her  aid  ;  the  reader  is  in- 
troduced into  the  various  courts  where  he  may  ob- 
tain redress,  informed  of  the  method  of  obtaining  it, 
and  all  the  wrongs  which  he  is  liable  to  receive  in 
person  or  property,  (below  public  offences)  and  the 
remedy  for  every  injury.  These  remedies  he  will 
perceive  are  borne  by  birds  either  flying  towards 
the  tree,  or  perched  upon  its  boughs  ;  with  a  scroll 
waving  from  its  beak  whereon  is  written  the  rem- 
edy.    The  first  position  indicates  injuries  commit- 


*  Among  real  estates  in  the  class  of  those  held  upon  condition,  are 
enumerated  Statutes  Merchant  and  Staple  and  Elegit,  which  are  prop- 
erly chattels  real,  and  should  be  enumerated  as  personality ;  but  being 
treated  of  by  Judge  Blackstone  under  the  head  of  estates  upon  condition, 
they  are  -there  mentioned. 


ted  with  force,  the  last,  injuries  which  flow  as  the 
consequences  of  some  illegal  act. 

The  last  or  left  hranch  represents  public 
wrongs.  This  embraces  the  nature  of  crimes  and 
their  punishments,  the  persons  capable  of  commit- 
ting them,  the  method  of  redress  in  criminal  courts, 
the  means  of  preventing  their  perpetration,  and 
their  various  kinds  :  against  God  and  Religion,  the 
Commonwealth,  the  Government,  the  Laws  of  Na- 
tions and  Individuals.  All  the  wrongs  which  may- 
be offered  to  each  are  accurately  defined,  and  the 
punishments  which  follow  their  commission.  These 
punishments  are  represented  by  figures,  calculated 
by  their  appearance  to  convey  some  idea  of  their 
comparative  enormity.  For  a  more  full  and 
graphic  expression,  an  index  to  this  branch  is  an- 
nexed. That  index  is  introduced  in  an  allegory 
also,  conveying  still  a  lesson  of  instruction.  A 
temple  appears  supported  by  three  massy  columns 
emblematic  of  the  mixed  government  of  Great  Bri- 
tain, viz.  Monarchy,  Aristocracy  and  Democracy. 
Upon  the  entablature  which  they  support,  rises  a 
finely  chased  column  representing  the  British  Con- 
stitution. Capping  that  column,  is  the  emblem  of 
the  Genius  which  presides  over  the  destinies  of 
that  mighty  nation.  On  one  hand  from  a  rainbow, 
that  ancient  sign  of  a  covenant,  of  obedience  and 
protection,  beams  a  refulgent  light ;  which  opens 
the  vision  to  all  the  benefits  which  flow  from  obedi- 
ence to  laws,  and  good  government.  Plenty  with 
her  cornucopia  of  profusion,  mild,  gentle  peace, 
wreathing  her  civic  crowns,  commerce  with  her 
sisters,  Arts  and  Science,  all  revelling  in  the  delights 
of  a  millennium.     But  on  the  other  hand,  may  be 


8 

perceived  in  the  darkness  that  reigns  there,  "  in 
horrible  emblazonry  are  limned"  the  figures  of  ter- 
rific vengeance,  breathing  forth  the  punishments 
which  await  each  crime.  "Where  passed  the 
shaft"  the  "  trace  is  found,"  and  on  it  written  the 
chastisement  which  follows  the  commission  of  mis- 
demeanors. 


EXPLANATION  OF  THE  BRANCHES. 

The  sub-soil  from  which  it  springs  is  Natural 
Law  ;  after  which  Revealed  Law  was  given  to 
man  forming  the  surface.  Fixed  in  this  soil,  and 
springing  from  it  by  the  roots  of  General  Customs, 
Particular  Customs,  and  Particular  Laws  (which 
comprise  the  Civil  and  Canon  Laws),  is  the  Tree 
of  the  Common  Law  which  commands  what  is 
right,  and  forbids  what  is  wrong.  These  Rights 
are  either  of  Persons  or  of  Tilings ;  and  the  wrongs 
are  either  Private  or  Public,  which  four  divisions 
form  the  four  books  of  Blackstone.  The  Statute 
Law  is  represented  as  a  husbandman,  with  a  green 
bough  in  one  hand,  and  a  pruning  hook  in  the  oth- 
er. As  the  aim  of  the  Statute  Law  is  to  enlarge 
or  restrain  the  common  Law  to  suit  the  wants  of 
society,  it  is  represented  as  lopping  off  where  the 
common  law  has  been  abrogated,  and  engrafting 


where  it  has  been  enlarged.  The  piece  being  au- 
tumnal, the  green  bough  shows  what  changes  have 
been  introduced  since  the  first  year  of  the  reign 
of  Richard  I.,  the  period  of  Legal  memory. 

The  rights  of  persons  commences  with  the  di- 
vision of  persons  into  Natural  and  Artificial.  Arti- 
ficial persons  are  corporations,  which  are  either 
aggregate  or  sole.  Aggregate  corporations  are 
either  Ecclesiastical  or  Lay,  and  Lay  corporations 
are  Civil  or  Elemosynary.  The  same  divisions 
exist  in  Sole  corporations. 

The  Rights  of  natural  persons  are  absolute  or 
Relative.  Absolute  rights  are  Personal  Security, 
Personal  Liberty,  and  Private  Property.  Per- 
sonal security  is  the  uninterrupted  enjoyment  of 
Life,  Limb,  Body,  Health  and  Reputation.  Per- 
sonal Liberty  is  the  unrestrained,  &c.  Private 
Property  is  the  free  use  and  disposal  of  acquisi- 
tions. 

Relative  Rights  are  Private  or  Public.  Private 
are  such  as  subsist  between,  and  regard  Husband 
and  Wife,  Parent  and  Child,  Master  and  Servant, 
and  Guardian  and  Ward. 

Public  Relative  Rights  are  such  as  exist  be- 
tween governors  and  the  governed.  The  governed 
are  either  natives  or  foreigners.  Foreigners  are 
denizens  or  aliens.  The  whole  are  again  divided 
into  Clergy  and  Laity.  The  Clergy  consist  of 
Archbishop,  Bishop,  &c,  down  to  Curate,  who 
having  all  the  labour  to  do,  and  little  remunera- 
tion, has  a  scroll  indicative  of  his  situation — Crux 
Christi  nostra  corona,  "  The  cross  of  Christ  is  our 
crown."  The  Laity  are  either  civil  or  military 
and  maritime.  The  whole  are  again  divided  into 
2 


10 

Nobility  and  Cmmonalty.  The  coronets  on  the 
branches  of  Duke,  Marquis,  Earl,  Viscount  and 
Baron  are  the  insignia  of  the  different  degrees  of 
nobility.  Of  the  commonalty  who  are  titled,  em- 
blems of  their  rank  are  also  introduced ;  and  of  those 
who  are  not,  mottoes  emblematic  of  their  relative 
situation  or  intrinsic  merit  are  introduced,  viz.  Gen- 
tlemen,— Sequa  nee  inferior,  I  follow,  but  am  not 
inferior.  Yeoman — Homo  sum,  lam  a  man.  The 
Governors  are  supreme  or  subordinate.  Subordi- 
nate are  Sheriff,  Justice  of  the  Peace,  Constable, 
Coroner,  Overseer  of  the  Poor,  and  Surveyor  of  the 
Roads.  The  supreme  are  Legislative  and  Executive. 
The  Legislative  is  the  Parliament,  which  consists 
of  King,  Lords  and  Commons,  who  form  it ;  append- 
ed to  that  is  an  emblem  of  what  properties  a  good 
government  ought  to  possess.  Vi  sapient ia  virtuti : 
Wisdom,  Strength,  and  Virtue.  The  heads  of  the 
laws  and  regulations  of  Parliament  next  succeed. 
From  this  Parliament  issue  the  statutes  which  ap- 
pear in  green,  one  of  which  is  in  the  hand  of  the 
husbandman. 

The  Executive  or  King  must  be  view7ed  under 
various  heads,  viz.  Title.  Duties,  Royal  Family, 
Revenue,  Councils  and  Prerogative.  Title  is  he- 
reditary, peculiar  to  itself,  limited  by  Parliament, 
still  hereditary.  For  duties  see  the  limbs.  For 
Royal  Family,  see  the  branches.  Councils — Par- 
liament, Deo  Regi  Patria,  God,  the  king,  and  the 
people.  Peers  of  the  realm — Nee  regi  nee  populo 
sed  utroque,  Neither  the  king  nor  the  people,  but 
both.  Judges  of  the  Court — Legi  regi  fidelis, 
Faithful  to  the  king  and  the  law.  Privy  Council — 
De  bon  vouloir  servir  leroy,  To  serve  the  king  with 


II 

right  good  will.  Prerogative  is  either  incidental 
or  direct.  Incidental  prerogatives  are  exceptions 
in  favor  of  the  king.  Direct  prerogative  regards 
his  character,  authority  and  Revenue.  His  charac- 
ter is  perfection,  sovereignty  and  perpetuity.  Em- 
blems of  each  are  the  allseeing  eye,  crown  and 
sceptre,  and  Phoenix  on  her  funeral  nest.  Autho- 
rity is  either  foreign  or  domestic.  Foreign  consists 
in  receiving  and  sending  ambassadors,  making  trea- 
ties, declaring  war,  and  making  peace,  granting 
letters  of  marque  and  reprisal,  and  granting  safe 
conducts.  Domestic  authority  extends  to  the  veto 
power,  generalissimo  of  fleets  and  armies,  fountain 
of  justice,  fountain  of  honor,  arbiter  of  commerce, 
head  of  the  church. 

Things  are  either  real  or  personal.  Personal 
things  are  called  chattels  which  are  either  real  or 
personal.  They  are  viewed  as  to  their  nature,  or 
how  title  is  acquired.  Their  nature  extends  to 
number  and  connexion  of  owners,  the  quantity  of 
interest  and  time  of  enjoyment.  They  are  held 
only  in  severalty,  joint  tenancy  and  in  common, 
which  differs  from  real  property.  Quantity  of  in- 
terest is  either  in  possession  or  in  action.  Posses- 
sion is  absolute  or  qualified.  Time  of  enjoyment 
in  possession  and  remainder  by  devise.  Title  is 
acquired  by  occupancy,  forfeiture,  prerogative,  suc- 
cession, custom,  marriage,  judgment,  gift  or  grant, 
bankruptcy,  contract,  testament  and  administra- 
tion. 

Real  property  is  to  be  considered  under  four 
different  heads,  viz.  kinds,  tenure  by  which  it  may 
be  held,  estate  which  may  be  had  therein,  and  title, 
Kinds  are  either  corporeal  or  incorporeal  heredita- 


12 

ments.  Incorporeal  are  advowson,  tithes,  &c.  Ten- 
ures are  either  Feudal,  ancient  English,  or  modern. 
English  tenures.  Feudal  tenures  were  abolished 
by  12th  Charles  2d,  also  Knight  service  which  was 
sunk  in  free  and  common  soccage  tenure.  Pure 
villenage  was  changed  to  ancient  demesne,  and 
villein  soccage  into  copyhold.  Modern  Englisq 
tenures  are  free  and  common  soccage; — copyhold, 
ancient  demesne  and  knight  sergeantry.  Common 
soccage  includes  Borough  English,  petit  sergean- 
try, gavelkind,  and  any  tenure  when  the  service  is 
certain.  Estate  which  may  be  had  therein  must 
be  considered  under  three  heads  ;  time  of  enjoy- 
ment, quantity  of  interest,  and  number  and  connec- 
tion of  owners.  Time  of  enjoyment  is  either  in  pos- 
session or  expectancy.  Expectancy  is  in  remain- 
der or  reversion.  Remainders  are  vested  or  con- 
tingent. Contingent  refer  to  uncertainty  of  per- 
son or  event,  among  which  are  also  classed  exec- 
utory devices.  Number  and  connexion  of  owners 
is  in  severalty,  joint  tenancy,  entirety,  coparceny 
and  in  common.  Quantity  of  interest  is  either 
freehold,  less  than  freehold,  and  estates  upon  con- 
dition. Freeholds  are  either  of  inheritance  or  not 
of  inheritance.  Of  inheritance  fee  simple  or  limit- 
ed. Limited  fees  are  qualified,  conditional  and 
feestail ;  not  of  inheritance,  conventional  or  legal. 
Conventional,  per  auter  vie,  i.  e.  for  another's  right, 
and  for  one's  own  right.  Legal  is  tenancy  by  try 
courtesy,  tenancy  in  tail  after  possibility  of  issue 
extinct,  and  tenancy  in  dower.  Less  than  freehold 
is  for  years,  at  will  and  at  sufferance. 

Estates  upon  condition  are  implied  or  expres- 
sed,    Expressed  is  either  precedent  or  subsequent. 


13 

Subsequent  is  either  vivum  vadium,  mortuum  vadi- 
um, statutes,  merchant  and  staple,  and  elegit. 

Title  is  either  in  naked  possession,  apparent 
right  of  possession,  actual  right  of  possession,  or 
right  of  property,  which  is  acquired  by  purchase  or 
descent.  Descent  is  lineal  or  collateral.  Pur 
chase  is  any  other  mode  of  acquisition  except  de- 
scent, as  escheat,  occupancy,  prescription,  forfeiture, 
and  alienation.  Escheat  is  where  the  inheritable 
blood  in  the  possessor  is  supposed  to  become  ex- 
tinct by  crime  or  death,  and  it  reverts  back  to  the 
lord  of  the  fee.  Prescription  is  where  incorporat- 
ed hereditaments  may  be  acquired — it  is  peculiar 
in  descent,  cannot  arise  by  record,  must  lie  in 
grant  and  by  tenure  in  fee.  Forfeiture  when  from 
certain  offences  the  title  to  property  becomes  de- 
stroyed. Alienation  is  by  record,  custom,  deed 
and  will.  The  requisites  of  a  deed  are  proper 
parties,  sufficient  consideration,  &c.  Parts  of  a 
deed,  premises,  <fcc.  These  deeds  may  be  avoided, 
ab  initio,  for  want  of  requisites,  also  by  matter  ex 
post  facto,  as  any  alteration,  breaking  off  or  defac- 
ing the  seal,  &c.  Different  kinds  of  conveyances. 
The  green  branches  on  this  limb  refer  to  those 
deeds  which  have  their  effect  from  the  statute  of 
uses,  27th  Henry  8th,  and  the  balance  are  deeds 
of  common  law. 

Private  Wrongs  are  such  injuries  as  are  offer- 
ed to  individuals  in  person  or  property  and  are 
termed  civil  injuries.  They  are  redressed  by  act 
of  the  parties,  by  operation  of  law,  and  by  suits  in 
court.  Act  of  the  parties  is  by  the  injured  party 
or  by  both  parties.  By  the  injured  party  in  de- 
fence of  self  or  household,  recaption,  entry,  &c, 


14 

Both  parties  by  accord  and  arbitration.  Opera- 
tion of  law  is  retainer  and  remitter.  Suits  in  court 
comprehends  the  proceedings  in  courts,  names  of 
the  courts,  and  wrongs  cognizable  by  courts, 
whether  ecclesiastical,  common  law,  military  and 
maritime  courts.  Wrongs  cognizable  by  the  ec- 
clesiastical are  in  their  nature  pecuniary,  matri- 
monial and  testamentary.  Military  are  grievan- 
ces in  matters  of  honor  and  adjusting  armorial 
bearings.  Maritime  are  causes  arising  at  sea. 
Common  law  are  encroachment,  &c.  refusal,  &c. 
wrongs  from  crown  to  subject,  from  subject  to 
crown,  and  from  subject  to  subject.  They  are  of- 
fered to  persons  or  things.  When  offered  to  per- 
sons it  affects  their  relative  or  absolute  rights. 
Relative  wrongs  are  such  as  the  husband  may  re- 
ceive through  the  wife,  the  parent  through  the 
child,  master  through  the  servant,  and  guardian 
through  ward.  The  birds  bring  the  name  of  the 
writ  by  which  it  is  redressed.  When  flying  they 
denote  remedies  for  injuries  committed  with  force. 
When  perched,  remedies  for  injuries  that  are  the 
consequence  of  some  illegal  act.  Absolute  are 
such  injuries  as  are  offered  to  rights  of  that  kind, 
and  are  laid  down  in  the  branches,  as  injury  to 
life,  which  is  a  public  wrong,  also  limb  and  body. 
To  limb  and  body  may  be  offered  five  injuries,  the 
four  last  of  which  are  indictable.  Injuries  may  be 
offered  to  health  and  reputation.  Things  are 
as  before  laid  down,  real  and  personal.  Injuries 
to  real  property  are  ouster,  trespass,  nuisance, 
waste,  subtraction,  disturbance.  Ouster  is  tak- 
ing possession  to  the  exclusion  of  the  owner, 
and    is    either   of  the   freehold   or  chattels   real. 


15 

Ouster  of  the  freehold  is  by  abatement,  intrusion, 
disseisin,  discontinuance,  and  deforcement.  In- 
jury to  personal  property  is  either  in  possession 
or  in  action.  In  possession  is  injury  by  depriva- 
tion of  possession  or  by  damage  done  while  in  pos- 
session. Deprivation  of  possession  is  by  illegal 
taking  or  illegal  detaining.  Injury  by  damage 
done  to  property  is  directly  or  by  consequence  of 
illegal  acts.  Personal  property  in  action  is  either 
express  or  implied.  Express  contracts  are  promi- 
ses, covenants,  and  debts.  Implied  contracts  are 
either  positive  or  presumptive.  Positive  are  such 
as  judgments,  penalties,  <fcc.  Presumptive  are 
work  and  labour  done,  goods  sold,  &c,  which  the 
law  presumes  are  to  be  paid  for. 

Pursuit  of  Remedies  by  action  by  Common 
Law  are,  1st,  by  Original  Writ ;  2d,  Process,  Plead- 
ings, Issue,  Trial,  Judgment,  Appeal,  and  Execu- 
tion. Original  Writ  is  optional  or  peremptory. 
Process  is  first  by  Summons,  then  if  it  fails,  Attach- 
ment, Capias  ad  Respondendum,  Testatum  Capi- 
as, Exigent,  Writ  of  Proclamation,  Capias  ut  Laga- 
tum.  In  the  Court  of  King's  Bench,  first  is  by  bill 
of  Middlesex,  which  if  it  fails  is  followed  by  a  lati- 
tat. In  Exchequer  the  first  process  is  Quo  Minus. 
Pleadings.  The  first  is  the  Declaration  and  the 
Defence,  then  the  Plea  which  is  either  dilatory  or 
to  the  action.  Dilatory  plea  is  intended  for  delay, 
and  questions  the  correctness  of  the  remedy,  and 
is  either  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Court,  to  the 
disability  of  the  Plff.  and  in  abatement ;  to  the  ac- 
tion is  confession  or  denial.  Denial  is  general  is- 
sue or  special  Plea.  After  Plea  is  Replication, 
rejoinder,  surrejoinder,  rebutter  and  sur  rebutter, 


16 

and  when  you  come  to  what  is  asserted  on  one 
hand  and  denied  on  the  other  it  is  said  to  be  at  is- 
sue. Issue  is  either  on  matter  of  fact  or  on  mat- 
ter of  law.  The  latter  is  called  a  demurrer.  Is- 
sue on  matter  of  fact  is  tried  by  jury.  Trial  is 
either  by  record,  inspection,  certificate,  witnesses, 
or  by  jury.  Judgment  is  either  interlocutory  or 
final.  Appeals  are  either  by  wrrit  of  attaint,  writ 
of  deceit,  audita  querella,  or  writ  of  error.  Exe- 
cution is  process  whereby  judgment  is  enforced, 
and  is  special,  &c. 

Public  W?~ongs,  are  contemplated  under  differ- 
ent heads.  The  general  nature  of  crime  and  pun- 
ishments, who  capable  of  committing,  their  several 
degrees  of  guilt,  several  species  of  crimes  and  their 
punishments,  the  means  of  preventing  their  perpe- 
tration, and  mode  of  inflicting  punishments  by 
Courts.  The  nature  of  crimes  and  misdemeanors : 
the  first  are  heinous  offences,  the  last  are  offences 
of  less  malignity. 

All  persons  are  capable  of  committing  crimes 
except  when  they  labour  under  a  defect  of  under- 
standing, where  there  is  understanding  but  not 
called  into  action,  and  when  the  action  is  con- 
strained, and  the  King  may  be  included  by  virtue 
of  prerogative  incidental :  of  principal  and  accessa- 
ry, it  is  plainly  laid  down.  Several  kinds  of  crimes 
and  misdemeanors  are  against  God  and  Religion, 
the  law  of  nations,  the  commonwealth,  the  Gov- 
ernment, and  individuals.  These  offences  are  all 
laid  down  in  their  various  branches,  and  all  that 
are  green  are  by  statute.  In  ascertaining  the  pun- 
ishment for  these  crimes  consult  the  index.  Some 
you  will  find  with  two  or  three  arrows :  you  have 
only  to  add  all  the  punishments  together. 


* 


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